Pharmaceutical Medicine (M.Sc. / P.Grad. Dip.)

This M.Sc. course is administered by the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, in the Trinity Centre of Health Sciences, St James's Hospital, Dublin. It has been developed to provide medical and science graduates with specialist knowledge and skills in the area of clinical pharmacology and pharmaceutical medicine. In-take is on an annual basis. Components of the course include principles of:

Pharmacology and biostatistics

New drug development and the regulatory environment

Pharmacoeconomics and rational use of drugs

Pharmacovigilance and drug information

The course involves completion of taught modules and the additional undertaking of a research project. The modules consist of formal teaching and personal assignments and are run over five terms on a part-time basis (approximately two modules per term). Some of the modules are undertaken by way of distance learning. In addition, the students are assigned a research project (including field work), to be submitted as a dissertation for the degree of M.Sc. only.

The syllabus is compliant with PharmaTrain, an EU funded Innovative Medicines Initiative (www.pharmatrain.eu).

Students are assessed by way of continuous assessment and are required to pass written and oral examinations at the end of their course. In addition, they are required to submit a written dissertation on their research project (with the possibility of an oral examination) by the end of the second year of the course.

Prospective students for this course must hold a primary degree in either medicine or another relevant health or science subject. Candidates should have a minimum of two years' practical experience in their area of qualification/pharmaceutical industry. The course is run in the Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8.